Anyone else trying to lose weight post pulmonary embolism?

tiny_mayo

I had a pulmonary embolism about three years ago, it sat in my lung long enough to kill an entire lobe and sadly I now only have 2/3rds of my right lung. It's been long enough to heal (you never really fully heal from these things) but I get so achy on my right side after doing any kind of excersize. It makes it very hard to do the things I want to do and need to do to lose weight. Is anyone else going through anything similar?

kristen6350

I'm sorry about your condition. I'm glad you are feeling better though

Exercise isn't needed to lose weight. You'll just need to achieve a calorie deficient - which will be harder without exercise, but not impossible. I lost 20lbs last year without any planned exercise (I say planned because I walk a lot normally), just with eating less food (and more filling food).

I can't beginning to know what you can and can't do physically, but what my first steps would be if I were you, was to figure out your calorie allowance (I wouldn't be very aggressive, no more than 1lb/week, probably better to set it to .5lbs week). Then start logging what you eat normally, to see what you can change. Take a snack out here, a drink out there, etc. Invest in a food scale (helps with understanding portion sizes). Take things slow. Get your doctor involved so he/she can give you advice.

tiny_mayo

Thanks for the suggestions, @kristen6350 ! I've been calorie counting for about 5 weeks now and it's helped a little bit, but I just have the urge to move more (which sometimes proves to be a lot harder than it sounds). A kitchen scale is a great idea. I've been thinking about investing in one, actually. I think it would definitely help me be more serious about sticking to calorie limits.

kristen6350

Do you have a regular doctor that understands your condition? They'd be much more qualified to recommend exercises that you could do and wouldn't hurt yourself doing.

If not, I'd just start as slow as you can and work up to more. I'm gonna assume Crossfit and Advanced Kickboxing wouldn't be for you right now...

Walking in general is great exercise - and you can do it anywhere and just need comfy clothes and tennis shoes. You can increase mileage and intensity when you feel up to it. With your lungs being weak, I'd avoid hot temps and high humidity though.

The food scale changed my life. I always knew I ate well, I just ate WAY too much. For example, a serving size of Rice Chex are about 110 calories per Cup. My "cup" was my cereal bowl (which was more like 3 cups! LOL).

Good luck!

tiny_mayo

I'm pretty active during the week, chasing several toddlers around. I started biking for half hour at a time, but after day three, things go downhill. I'll get in touch with my doctor to see what they recommend and in the meantime just try walking some more. Unfortunately, I can't do that outside in the AZ heat during Monsoon Season lol thank you so much, you've been very encouraging! @kristen6350

tomteboda

I walk in the early morning or late at night to avoid heat and sun as I have lupus.

But I nearly endorse the food scale.

Cheesy567

I had multiple PEs, and am on warfarin life-long. Mine were segmental and sub segmental (smaller than yours!) so I didn't lose a lobe or a major portion of lung. I still have problems with shortness of breath, but we can't figure out why (many medical issues at play). I follow with a cardiologist to make sure I didn't develop Pulmonary Hypertension, which can happen after a PE.

I've also been losing weight mainly through diet changes. I follow a low-carb diet to manage cravings and medication side-effects, and have gradually lost weight.

Hang in there! You can do this!! I find my step-counter to be very motivating. And I try to focus on goals I can control (i.e., diet, gentle exercise) rather than scale-based goals (I tend to have huge weekly weight swings due to meds, infusions, etc). Look for progress over time. Focusing on average weight loss, rather than any single measurement helps too. (I weigh daily because I like seeing the patterns, but I don't sweat a sudden 5-pound gain, just keep focused on the overall trend).